Labour suffered a significant Electoral defeat on 12th December while the Tories achieved a large majority, their first for three decades.
Jeremy Corbyn is right that a period of reflection is required to understand what the defeat (and victory) means for the future. Obviously it means a grim Christmas and beyond for the ‘Have Nots’ but a question on the left is what needs to be done to achieve Election victory.
The media, which at best, is not great when it comes to history have noted that the 203 seats won is the lowest total since 1935. Of course there are always other figures. One (I havent yet checked the final figure) is that Labour now has the largest number of female MPs in Parliamentary history.
One interesting measure is the total number of votes cast for Labour. This (fairly obviously) is not a guarantee of Electoral success but it does in a very broad way reflect a class vote and the depth of a Party’s support.
Here Labour’s 10.3 million is well down on what Corbyn achieved in 2017 but beyond that the second highest Labour total since 2001, Tony Blair’s 2nd Election victory.
One thought might be that this support needs to further engaged with and organised to help secure a future Labour win. Its surely not about Westminster but about the grassroots in workplaces and communities across the country.
Labour votes
2019 10.3m
2017 12.88m
2015 9.35m
2010 8.61m
2005 9.55m
2001 10.72m
1997 13.52m
1992 11.56m
1987 10.03m
1983 8.46m
[…] at any time since 1935 – 203 – but also more female MPs than any party has ever had (see here), the Liberal Democrats had a disaster relieved only by Sarah Jane Olney winning Richmond Park from […]